#the whole episode dedicated to how the last time Daniel got in between them it was actually a crazy horrible bad time for Daniel but he and

[rivercule]

One thing I will say. There’s no way the penthouse shit went down like that. “Hey I’m gonna leave you here with this guy who could easily kill either of us and has every reason, as far as I know, to want you dead. Don’t worry I sternly told him to leave you alone. Oh wait he turned you into a vampire? Yeah I’m sure that was uneventful. Not sure that qualifies as hurting you either so I think we’re all good.”

They’re definitely going to revisit that.

[clevervonskelli]

I finally edited my post-finale, notes-app thoughts so that they're somewhat intelligible and I'm leaving them here in one rambling lump. 

- ROSIE!! I would give this man all the screentime ever. The depiction of his mission and crash was executed so well! Nate did a stellar job with that and later at the concentration camp. 

- Take the "true" out of the "we were the masters of the air" part! I hate it. Who put that in there? It sounds corny, and weird, and like they achieved some sort of divinely dictated status and it really pisses me off. The vibe is manifest destiny, American imperialism-type shiz and I hate it. Just "we were the masters of the air" with a different emphasis in Anthony's Crosby voice would have been great. Miss me with that "true" bullshit. Yes, this miniscule moment is what I will fight over. 

- Ngl, I thought there was some sort of design/editing oopsie when a tumblr post last week zoomed in on the opening credits where it shows a collection of dudes standing beside a plane and one of the ones wearing a life vest had Rafe Law's face. But now I'm so happy that in the show Lemmons got to take flight and participate in such a cheerful mission. 

- The roles and screen time for the Tuskegee men: It should have been better for sure but it was at least tasteful?? as weird as that sounds. In my (white) opinion, their initial introduction offered a very limited look at the unit as a whole but still felt a lot more intimate than for other characters we have seen more often. In episode 9, Macon, Jefferson, & Daniels didn't say much but they felt so integral to the scenes they were in and had quiet moments (like the nods when they arrived at the new camp or being right in the thick of the scramble during the liberation) that felt all the more powerful because of the lack of dialogue. 

What I would have really liked is for their storylines to run through every episode as more of a parallel to those of the 100th, with equal attention dedicated to them/their missions, but at least they weren't simply tossed into the show in a way that felt careless or grudgingly forced. 

- I'm not sure I like Solomon as the one lifting the guard during the march. Yes, the circumstances really did lead to some of them helping each other like that, even as wild as prisoners toting the guns might seem, but having it be a Jewish POW in the show felt very morally pedantic, like some sort of Sunday-school lesson on being the bigger person. I can only speak as a non-Jew, but it felt odd! Instead of being an effective way to underline the complexity of the relationships between prisoners & captors or Germans & Americans it felt like it was trying too hard to also connect to the Holocaust elements of the episode. I feel like the result was clumsy and strange in a way that I don't think it would have been if it had been a character other than Solomon taking those actions. 

- And while I'm on the subject of the guards/prisoners angle...

That one guard yelling and bragging about how to handle the prisoners was awkwardly done. I can't remember it exactly, but if the show wanted to highlight that "not all Germans and not all the prison staff were Nazis but some definitely were and those ones were real bastards!" then they should have had the other guard looking conflicted or upset by it or something. There should have been some kind of nuance distinguishable to the audience.  Most of the faces were just so blank it felt like one guy was giving the scene his all while everyone else spaced for that take.

- They managed to convey the "old men and kids" thing pretty well without hitting us over the head or putting it in the voiceover. There's a more effective way for it to have been done, I just know it, but I have no actual suggestions and therefore must be gracious. I'm just happy they tried to show a tiny bit of how staggeringly drained and unrecognizable the entire German nation was by the end of the war. MotA's ✨bombing morality discourse✨ often felt unsettled throughout the show, but I think the attempt at illustrating that the first country the Nazis invaded/attacked was their own ended up being more successful. 

- I'm not sure exactly what they were doing with the moment where Buck and the horse stare into each other's souls but I love how it gives us the opportunity to have cracky, 'Cleven is a horse boy' jokes 🐎. 

(Ok, but seriously, what was with the horse? Were they trying to increase tension wondering if it would reveal them? Was it to show how dire things had become in Germany compared to when earlier they had such technological might? Was it supposed to be one of the emaciated horses they often passed while on the march? Is it for white horse symbolic reasons? Just for the aesthetic? WHY?!?). 

- I could have easily spent 40 minutes just watching the POWs trying to pack up for the march and I still wouldn't have had enough. I'm absolutely wild for the details and background stuff in Stalag III and I can't wait for all the gifsets and whatnot to be able to take a closer look at things ❤️

- They gave Crosby his locked supply shed moment!! I was really hoping for that, or when he intellectually destroys the 390th's navigator, to be included and it is so satisfying to see. I love having something else to focus on besides his voiceover and early episode struggles (both of which I do enjoy) or the weird af way they did the him+Sandra thing (which I quite despise). Add it to his Nietze quote and anxiety concerning their roles in the war and I feel like we got a decent characterization of him again. 

- I guess I can accept not enough budget for a 10th episode but there wasn't even enough for Meatball in the finale? Man, I'd sure like to go back in time and crowdfund that shit. 

- When Sammy yelled "they won!!" as the kiddos were playing after everyone leaves Thorpe Abbotts I got super annoyed. 

The hero worship would be very real of course, but Hanks & Spielberg can't convince me that a British kid who has been living a huge chunk of his life in a country at war would not make that a "we won!". Not only was England a part of the victorious side but Sammy was basically a part of the Thorpe Abbotts/100thBG family and therefore would likely feel like a part of any of their successes too. It's kind of petty but, again, it felt a little too "USA! USA!! USA!!!" for my tastes. 

- From the moment his casting was announced I expected Callum Turner to put his entire being into this role and he certainly has. They nabbed a 6'4 dude built like an old growth pine to play a man who was something like 5'6 and 120lbs soaking wet, but I could definitely see the vision. His dedication has been so clear in other episodes as well but there was just something about Episode 9 that went above and beyond. Maybe because there are scenes where Egan is alone more often (or at least separated somewhat from the others), just like when he first bailed, but Callum's facial work and body language was impeccable. 

[simplyclary]

The Flash: Start With War, End With Love

(Photo credits: The CW)

[WARNING: MAJOR Spoilers ahead for the Season 7 finale of The Flash "Heart of the Matter Part 2"]

Okay, to kickstart things, let me just say that this has got to be my most favorite finale of all the finales of the show. I lost my voice screaming, drained my eyes crying and fangirled my heart out the entire time. This episode just had me off my seat the entire time. But hold that for a moment, let's back up here.

Aired yesterday, July 20, 2021, was the 151th episode and the finale of the 7th season of the hit CW series "The Flash" and it was a finale that had fans excited and emotional.

The episode started where last week's episode left off, with Barry (Grant Gustin) inside the mind of August Heart, a.k.a Godspeed (guest star Karan Oberoi), to figure out his entire agenda. In a conversation scene, Heart revealed to Barry that he wanted organic speed because he wanted to be faster than Barry's son Bart (guest star Jordan Fisher). When Barry finally woke up, he told his entire team, including August, what he had witnessed inside, which left August devastated and worried for his future.

The GodSpeed clone wars (aha, a little Star Wars reference there) was still ongoing, and Barry had to find a way to stop this once and for all, while ensuring that there would be no casualties. He then got the help of fellow speedster Jay Garrick (guest star John Wesley Shipp) and the human form of the speedforce, Nora (guest star Michelle Harrison). His children Bart and Nora (guest star Jessica Parker Kennedy) and the love of his life Iris (Candice Patton) also joined in the fray of speedsters. With the knowledge of what they are about to face, Speedforce Nora gave them a little boost of speed and they all sped into action, with Mecha-Vibe (Carlos Valdes) and Frost (Danielle Panabaker) as backup.

With all speedsters all boosted up, a fight scene ensued, with all the speedsters displaying various abilities. Bart firing "shurikens" out of his lightning, Nora using her "lightning lasso", Jay going Captain America, throwing his helmet like a shield, Speedforce Nora snapping away lightning at the clones, Barry and Iris fighting back to back. This scene seriously gave me Avengers: Endgame flashbacks. Of course, let us not forget Chester (Brandon McKnight) talking Allegra (Kayla Compton) into aiding the speedsters with her microwave blasts.

Just when I thought it was all well and done, August Heart gained access to his dormant abilities through a "Tachyon-Enhancing" device with a little organic speed boost from Barry and he became GodSpeed, which is a lot badder than the clones. He then fought Barry, and when Barry thought he was going to be zapped to death, Reverse-Flash (Tom Cavanagh) showed up. What had me crying the second time was when a fight in the style of the famous "Duel of the Fates" scene from Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace ensued between Flash, Reverse-Flash and Godspeed. All of them wielded "lightning sabers" and fought each other. GodSpeed was only defeated when Reverse Flash stabbed him. Guess that's goodbye for now. Barry also showed his full speed to his arch-nemesis, which also started a mini fight between the two speedsters.

The most magical and emotional moment of the episode was probably when the titular couple of the show, Barry and Iris renewed their vows, with Bart, taking after his father, serenaded the lovely couple with a sweet song. Cisco also officiated the renewal of vows and it ended with a sweet kiss that is filled with love. This renewal of vows scene honestly had me bawling because I admit that I'm a weakling when it comes to proposals, weddings and reunions. Plus, the whole season, fans haven't gotten a West-Allen kiss and I'm glad they saved a kiss for the very end of the season.

Honestly, there is not a show who can bring joy to me more than The Flash. I have been so attached to the characters that I get really happy every time I see them happy. I pray that this show will last until season 10 or beyond, because I can't imagine my life without this show. Kudos to all the cast and crew who put so much dedication and hard work to this show.

I cannot say more about this episode rather than it is a perfect way to end the season. So far, there are no cliffhangers that will give a hint as to what Season 8 will give, but I'm willing to wait for the premiere of the next season to find out what's next.

This is how you end a season, folks. Start it rough, full of war and being separated from one another, yet at the end, everything will fall into place and love, forgiveness and peace will remain victorious.

Watch out for the 8th season of The Flash airing November 16th at 8/7 central on the CW.

[whittakerjodie]

Love the Suit ( 13th Doctor X Reader )

Prompt: You're trying to focus on the task at hand but it's been so long since the Doctor has worn a suit and.. well.. you can't resist. Especially not when a certain someone encourages you.

A/N: I think it’ll finally post in the tag now, sorry for the wait! Written mainly because most fics portray 13 as the initiator and uh... It's not realistic sweety! So we’re playing Top the Timelord and smooching this dork. Also reader is a timelord because that seems cool

Words: 1.5k

Warnings: Slightly saucy, takes place during episode One of season 12 so spoilers! also amateur writing. 

 After thousands of years of time and space, going 'undercover' remained one of your favorite strategies. Dressing up, establishing a new identity, and sneakily acquiring the information needed to save the day? A lot more favorable compared to fighting or narrowly escaping death (at least, in your opinion)

   Daniel Barton's party was an opportunity to do that. According to Yaz and Ryan, he'd been all too suspicious in their interview with him. The 5 of you, in addition to the mysterious new O, entered the party with the objective of finding him and getting information. It was high-scale by human standards, complete with security and gambling tables across the floor. Not unexpected for a man of Barton's status.

"It's a party, we're guests. Blend in." You scoffed at the Doctors statement. We're... us. Two timelords, 3 normal humans and someone we just met. Good luck with that. Even though all of you donned expensive fine suits similar to most of the other party members, (provided by the TARDIS, of course) you still could sense unease in the room as if a few of them knew you didn't belong. 

   Maybe it was the way Ryan and Graham were cheering and shouting about every little win while the others remained poker-faced. It could've also been the way Yaz didn't know what she was doing, awkwardly floating from game to game. But you suspected it was mainly the Doctor, who had just yelled "Snap!" Across the room despite being in a game of.. poker? You couldn't tell. 

   Regardless, you felt a little tug on the strings of your hearts at the confused look on her face when she realized they weren't playing Snap. The Doctors aloofness had always been a part of her charm, and the addition of her suit didn't exactly help you focus on blending in. It'd been decades in your time since she'd worn one, and even then it'd been in a different face. This was new... this was cute. Aggressively so. You knew you were staring for a little too long, but you didn't realize just how long until a voice sounded from next to you. 

"Just wondering if you’ve seen anything? Considering we are here for a reason" You shifted your gaze from the Doctor to O, who was smirking. Your face warmed at being caught in the act but you quickly stifled it down, remaining composed. You felt like chastising him for getting too close, as he should be trying to blend in on his own. You busied yourself with the game in front of you and thought of a quick response. 

"I’m well aware. Just making sure everyone else is doing their job." You added a little infliction at the end to indicate that maybe he should do so as well. He simply laughed and analyzed your cards. 

"I've been texting her for a while, you know. Know her quite well" A flash of jealousy briefly made itself known. You'd just met this man. The Doctor only met him once in person before. Who did he think he was? Whatever he was trying to do wouldn't work. Your friendship stretched beyond definition, had lasted for centuries. You- 

"That wasn't meant to be a dig, by the way. I only mean to say... I know a little bit about how she feels. And you've got an excellent poker face but as someone close to MI6 and as a... casual observer... I'm guessing I know a little bit about how you feel, too." You raised a brow at smile he wore. It was sinister, almost, but you considered what he'd said nonetheless. He seemed to notice your uncomfortable shift and it only seemed to make his smile grow. "Go for it. Trust me." 

As O walked away, you found it hard to break your eyes off of him. That was... weird, you thought. But he’s not entirely wrong. You made a mental note to ask the Doctor more about him later. Just as you turned back to gaze at her, she appeared in front of you. You jumped slightly, grabbing her arm out of surprise. 

"A little announcement, next time?"  

"Surprised you didn't sense me coming. Everything alright?" Her thick accent only made your heartbeat more and you dedicated a great amount of your effort into slowing it down. Focus, Y/N, You chastised. Your hand still softly rested on her arm and your eyes darted to it, before meeting hers. 

"F-fine, yeah." 

"I saw you and O talking, have you two found anything yet?"

"Not yet. Got... distracted" Not a lie. She frowned. 

"Ah well, we haven't either." She continued talking, explaining her next course of action but you couldn't possibly listen. Her face was so animated this regeneration. She'd always been a burst of personality and energy no matter the body, but it was different every time. One could make a brief comparison to looking at the sun too long. You adored it. You scanned the room briefly. Ryan and Graham were partaking in Hors d'oeuvres, and Yaz was talking to O. What he’d said crossed your mind once more. Well They're not exactly focusing. Why should I? 

"Y/N? Are you listening?" 

"Not totally. We should probably talk in another room. You know, away from others...?" You tried a little bit of a psychic nudge, once again checking to make sure everyone wasn't doing what they were supposed to. She seemed to be just slightly lost about your intentions. You rolled your eyes and your hand drifted from her arm to link with her hand. "Come with me" 

   None of the companions seemed to notice you leading her out of the room, and if they did they didn't approach or say anything. Good. As you walked down the elegant hallway, you guessed as to which doors led to empty rooms. Taking your chances, you pulled open the fourth door on your right. A small closet. Even better. You let her enter first then let the door close on its own. 

"So, I was thinking-" You cut her off by gently cupping her face, smiling softly at the look in her eye. She stared questioningly, then seemed to absorb the situation. "We're not here to talk about the plan are we?" You shook your head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

"Not exactly. I was hoping, if we weren't too preoccupied, I could kiss you?" She nodded all to quickly and you laughed up until your lips gently pressed up against hers. They were soft and you sighed into them, feeling her hands hesitantly rest on your shoulders as her back hit the wall. You tried to decide what to do with your hands next.

Anywhere's fine, You felt the words pass through your mind and deepened the kiss, only having established a psychic link with her on a few highly dangerous adventures. The embrace was reassuring. It gave you time to explore, to understand, and to feel.  It was almost overwhelming. 

   You could tell she felt the same so you broke off the kiss to give her a small reprieve. As you two caught your breath, you gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry. Been waiting to do that for a while.” 

  She didn’t respond, seemingly dumbfounded. You felt a small swell of pride at the fact that you'd been able to make her speechless. You instinctively gave her a few more soft pecks, toying with the idea of going a little farther. You felt her eager acceptance and moved your lips to her throat, focusing some of your efforts into getting rid of the bow-tie that helped deny access to some of it. Bow-ties may have been cool once, but now they were an inconvenience. 

   As your lips grazed a certain point along her jaw she let out a soft noise; something between a whimper and a gasp, but not quite either. You both jumped back to look at each other in surprise. Just as you were about to fulfill your sudden goal of continuing kissing her senseless, the door opened. 

   Both of your heads snapped to the entrance, eyes wide and hearts beating fast. Graham, the unfortunate intruder, simply stared with a brow raised as high as the ceiling. You had a sinking feeling that there wasn't exactly a way to hide what you'd been doing. 

   One of her hands was buried in your hair (though she slowly lowered it) and both of yours were frozen in their attempt to unbutton her blazer. 

It was dreadfully, awkwardly, horribly silent. 

He cleared his throat. "Well then... We were just um, wondering where you were off to and uh-" he looked down the hallway and gave a curt nod before quickly walking away. Panic and embarrassment quickly swallowed the two of you whole and you stepped back. 

"We should probably-" 

"Oh, no definitely..." 

You took in her bewildered expression and couldn't help but burst into laughter. What a moment.

"What?" She asked, hurriedly fixing her hair and suit. You shook your head, still giggling. "No, really, what?" 

You gave her another quick kiss. 

"Oh, nothing. Love the suit, by the way" 

You didn't stay to see her reaction. 

Later, you heard through the remnants of your psychic link. 

Sounds like a plan. 

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Thoughts on Song of the Sireneas

Aww Mateo and Elena are still working on the Scepter powers together. They are adorable magic nerds. You also got to admire Elena’s dedication to working even on route to vacation. 

Yeesh, I never thought Daniel and Scarlett could be so fierce and they’re good with a crossbow. I wonder if they ever fought pirates. I was also glad to see another weapon besides swords. I was wondering if they had any others. 

Familia Forever is such a good song and I adored that picture of little Elena and a very brief glimpse of her parents in it. 

Also enjoyed Esteban’s “better cousin” attitude toward Cristóbal. But seriously, was he thinking that pointing out Cristóbal looks older would make him look better in comparison? I was also wondering if he had any suspicion that Cristóbal was bribed into loyalty to Shuriki? Probably not but still I question.....

Marisa is such a combination of Ariel and Elena. Ariel in her curiosity and fascination with humans. Elena with her impulsiveness, tendency to bend royal commands and willingness to listen to complete strangers that have attempted to attack them.

Marzel totally fills the Gabe character by chasing after an impulsive princess. I wish they got to interact more together. I also wished he had gotten to sing. (See link here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XNGWDH-6yv8) 

Overall I hope they get to return in future episodes together.

Seriously when Marisa was singing to attract Elena I thought Shuriki was using a neve before seen Scepter power. I mean she wasn’t but way to give a girl a heart attack. 

A New Tale has been stuck in my head for an hour already. I smiled the whole way through. I was surprised that the Sireneas actaually called themselves evil but I guess there weren’t many ways to justify sinking ships. 

And maybe it is just me but does Camila look pretty young in the flashback. Like teenager young and when she is turned into a sirenea she is like a full grown adult. Maybe it’s magic. Maybe it’s just me. 

When they had Cristóbal losing his father at sea, I was wondering if the writers were trying to make him sympathetic to throw us off guard. And poor Elena. It just made me wonder if she had a close relationship with her uncle. Or if he was at all similar to Dad. Everyone she loved and known died, it’s sad!

Also I thought Cristóbal was going to use Shuriki as an excuse for his hatred of the Sireneas. You know, like “Will ever forgive Shuriki for murdering your parents? It’s the same with me and the Sireneas.” I think Elena would have understood that thinking very well. But he chose the “I don’t want you hurt” excuse which I bet hurt Elena so much when it turned out Cristóbal was slime. 

I liked Elena and Isabel’s new dresses. Very classy. 

Fiero coming out in a Shuriki mask was so creepy and the way they had literally had almost drowned Elena. What is it? The third time she almost died? 

King Pescaro gave me King Triton vibes just saying. 

Rita Moreno! Just a brief aside to mention that the legend is speaking as Queen Camila. I kinda felt bad for her, her people having such an intense distrust of her former species. 

I liked how Marisa was so understanding of why her father was worried about her interactions with humans yet recongnized that the humans weren’t doing anything wrong. They didn’t known who she was and they didn’t know that sireneas were no longer evil. 

And Elena and Marisa just go ahead and prove they are twins by impulsively thinking they can convince everyone to do what is right and end up getting captured. 

The tres amigos dramatic rescue entrance was epic. 

Gabe complimenting Mateo’s magic skills? They have come a long way since the events of Spellbound. 

I was wondering can the Sireneas direct their singing to specific people? They had such a huge army, I was surprised they didn’t hypnotized the whole boat. 

Shuriki’s insistance on calling Cruz-”beast” made me laugh. 

I don’t think Carla will be redeemed. I mean telling Shuriki she has a “clear shot” to kill Elena. Heartless. If they do, it better be a damn good reason/backstory of Esteban proportions.  

I loved how the tres amigos were a perfect team in bringing down the Duke, the Delgados and Fiero. They work so well together. The jaquins were helpful too. 

I also liked how they showed Naomi's rope skills after practicing in the beginning of the special. Nice foreshadowing. 

I gasped at the Mateo fight scene. He was like a ninja! He ran on a wall. He has totally redeemed himself for accidentally giving Carla leverage to unfreeze Fiero. And when he jumped, he reminded me of Batman. 

The Elena vs Shuriki fight was so intense. “You’re stalling” “So are you” Ugh! I was on the edge of my seat. 

I don’t think Shuriki is gone for good. Well considering we have episode descriptions with her returning, that’s kinda obvious. But I do think she got sucked into the orb which is a fitting punishment. Now she’ll know what Elena felt like. And Elena can have some peace. For now. 

Her cuddling up next to Skylar was so sad and relief. She just needed someone to hug after all this pain she’s been through. Poor girl. 

Since Duke Cristóbal is in jail-who will rule Buena Vista? But I bet Esteban is feeling pretty tense at the thought of ever revealing his secret considering Elena’s coldness to Cristóbal. 

Since Shuriki and Fiero are gone, I hope the Delgados and by that I mean Carla will get to step up as main villain against Elena for a short time. 

I love the final hug between Elena and Marisa, two worlds come together at last. Isn’t that what ruling is about. Bridging gaps between former enemies and defeating the truly cruel ones. 

I loved the special and I for one think it was worth the wait. Now I demand 10 more episodes before the next hiatus. Just to wrap up the season at least. And for more returns of the Sireneas. 

A little bonus clip of Marzel which I thought was hilarious https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bw4kMCACcyE

[milquetoast-on-acid]

Conspiracy Theory pt.2, A Reactionary Post

I pledge my faithfulness to you in sickness and in health. Receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity.

Major Crimes | S6xE7: Episode Review I loved this episode so much more than last weeks. The tone of this case fits the tone of the personal stories. Unlike last weeks when the tone was so widely different and was kind of jarring. And with everything that is going on this season the personal storylines completely outshine the cases.

What this episode is about: The Psychological Effects of Rape and Sexual Harassment Vanessa Gus (& Rusty): Was it Consensual or Non-Consensual? Love your life, Sharon Raydor Flynn The Misunderstood Feminist Bonnie Pearl Sharon Raydor Working Families The Landon's The Raydor/Flynn/Beck Family Fidelity & Support: Those that have it & Those that don't | Maternal Love   Andrea & Rusty   Bonnie & Vanessa   Sharon & Rusty | Romantic Love   Rusty & Gus   Sharon & Andy

"There is no reason to say it is there." Even Provenza is getting annoyed with Cami.

"The last person I wanted notified is her Lawyer. No more impromptu press conferences." This is exactly what I was saying last time!

"She had trouble sleeping." "So she texted her attorney?" Andy finishing Sharon's sentence like this gives me life and makes me laugh.

"Your not my type. Your too far over 30." I love how Cami uses Curtis' words and throws them back in his face.

"Oh my god. You guys lie to people even when you don't have to." Nice throw back to the first few seasons when all Rusty said was all the Police do is lie to everyone. And I am never going to be a cop.

"We just can't let this asshole walk out of here." There is one crime that Andy hates above all else and that seems to be rape. He always reacts very strongly to rape cases. Remember what he did to Crolick, who got away after he raped a woman and then set fire to her? He sent Crolick flowers every year on her death saying "Happy Death Day." to remind him that there is someone out there that wont ever forget what he did. It even gave Brenda the idea to send Stroh flowers.

Sharon's shoes I feel like this is another case of Mary wanting to wear her own personal footwear in the show. I get that she's not working right now but man those are some ugly shoes. 

Not to mention these shoes here. I get that Sharon's probably supposed to have swollen legs at this point due to her Cardiomyopathy. But they didn't have to pick some butt ass ugly shoes for her to wear.

The Psychological Effects of Rape and Sexual Harassment

Vanessa

Don't really know much about Vanessa's behavior before she was raped but it had a very serious effect on her. She became rather antisocial. She didn't want any kind of attention directed to her and several of her coworkers knew that she was suicidal. To the point that they thought she'd killed herself and wasn't surprised to hear about her death. 

Gus (& Rusty) Rusty & Gus: Was a Consensual or Non-Consensual? TVfanatic's review of this weeks episode makes a rather interesting theory about what's going on with Gus. IF Gus was raped by Aiden. It might explain some of his behavior. Gus completely taking the blame and telling Rusty not to blame Aiden at all. Often times a victim of rape will take all of the blame of their rape, sometimes thinking that they deserved it. Gus avoiding Rusty. At the beginning of the season, Gus was deliberately avoiding Rusty. This could be because of him trying to deal with the rape.

If it was non-consensual why would Gus tell Rusty that he slept with Aiden? Maybe he's just too embarrassed to admit that it was rape. If it was Rape this changes things completely.

On the other hand... If it was consensual as Gus said to Rusty. Gus' behavior in this could also be explained as guilt over what he had done. Gus wanting to take the blame, because he is the cause of hurting both of them. Gus avoiding Rusty in the beginning of the season could be guilt about what he had done and not knowing how to fix it. 

If Gus did sleep with Aiden. Like he said he did. Then I urge Rusty to not take Gus back. Even if Gus will never look at another man while their together. Trust is something that is completely lost between them. And even if Rusty could forgive Gus one day, he will never forget. On a personal note this is something that destroyed my friend's marriage. My friend's husband swore he'd never cheat again but he did over and over again. And my friend could never completely trust him again. 

"I feel like I'm being bought out for sex it's gross." "And just so you know when I was being bought for sex, I made ten grand. Ever." DAMN there is so much being flung at the other here. Both of them flinging words of bitterness. It's interesting that he would bring up something so closely connected to Rusty's past. Considering that Rusty found out that Gus told Aiden about Rusty having been a prostitute. Which makes me think he never understood that part of Rusty's past.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I was never very good at making you happy." A nice bit of Rusty being self aware. My how you have grown. Rusty ignoring Gus the way Gus was ignoring Rusty.

Love your life, Sharon Raydor Flynn

Sharon showing up at crime scenes this season is great but it also highlights a part of what Sharon is going through with her illness. Sharon has never shown up this much to crime scenes. Sharon is very dedicated to her work but is not the workaholic that Brenda was. She lets her team do their jobs and doesn't feel the need to stick her fingers in every pie. But I think with this illness creeping up on her, it is really throwing her for a loop.

Andy really is not the only one that's in denial about her illness. She's going to have to take a step back, probaby retirement. And for her to lose her career, something she's fought so hard for, one she loves so very much. A career that is so very much a part of her identity is enormisly hard for her to face.  And so she's pushing herself to be everywhere because of that. As soon as Sharon starts to go down everyone rushes to her side. Amy making it the fastest to her, and is ready to catch her if she faints again. Provenza looks like he's about to have a heart attack.

"I don't need anyone to come pick me up." "Oh no, no no no. I am the incident Commander and I will not have you collapsing in my crime scene. Now, you are over doing it. I will call paramedics. They can be here in ten minutes." Provenza reacts so fast in having Wes call Andy and having Buzz grab her a drink. Considering his reaction to her collapse the last time, for the very reason that he cares so deeply for her he does not want her collapsing on him, again. He's fighting with her here to get her to slow down and rest and is losing the battle. Fortunetly though Wes did follow through on Provenza's order and did call Andy. Who we assume picked her up and droped her off back at home to rest. I love his and Julio's reaction to Cami picking up Sharon's train of thought. Like WTF Cami!? The woman is about to collapse again we don't want her pushing herself the way she seems determined to do. And we don't want to encourage it.

"Sharon Raydor slept in and the world didn't implode." Why do I feel this is as much a knock on us as it is about the characters? About how we won’t explode if Sharon is not in every scene. IMO, that was never the complaint. Much more about quality of scenes instead of quantity. Which we are finally getting. 

The Misunderstood Feminist

Bonnie Pearl "I think Bonnie Pearl was more of a Maternal Figure."

I kind of had a feeling that they were going to go this route with Bonnie. And that she would eventually parallel with Sharon and boy do they ever. Especially with the whole Bonnie & Jerry, Sharon & Jack parallels. Bonnie is a tough go getter, a woman in a male dominated career and it seems misunderstood. Much in the way that Sharon Raydor is. Turns out the woman was very motherly towards Vanessa. Bonnie building a case against Vanessa's rapist really reminds me of that time that Sharon was very deliberate about how she dealt with Daniel Dunn after he beat Rusty. 

My question here is why was Bonnie so close to Vanessa when she wasn't close to her son? What happened there? 

Sharon "Your stronger than you think." Much like with Bonnie Pearl, Sharon was very misunderstood. Introduced into the show as the antagonist, who was not necessarily wrong. And the more that we got to know her, the more we realized we were very wrong about who she was. Both woman project an image of a tough feminist who seems rather uninterested in other's feelings. Sharon's seemingly emotionally aloofness is (in part ) a defense mechanism to protect her rather soft inner core. One that gets attached to people that seem to be emotionally damaged. Because she sees things in them that many others don't. Bonnie and Vanessa are the parallel to Sharon and Rusty.

Working Families

"It's wonderful don't you think, working with your family?" The Landon's

So it seems like Dr Peppy works with his family. I personally wouldn't let Disgusting Jr anywhere near my job. He seems like a spoiled brat who would rather be raging around with his hormones. Dr Peppy seems to be the showmen (and loves it) and Mrs Peppy seems to be the one to manage his time. Mrs Peppy definitely has the gumption to kill.

The Raydor/Flynn/Beck Family

Rusty & Gus "What's going on there?"

Rusty is really taking on some of Sharon's personality. When Sharon asks Rusty about his phone going off and why he keeps declining the calls. He knowingly deflects. And Sharon being Sharon who has to know everything that's going on with her children's emotional well being. Won't drop it. 

"I'm sure that Gus will come around." One thing that I find odd (but also not) is Sharon's reaction to Gus sleeping with Aiden. Sharon has this ability to see the good in people, when no one else can. It is her greatest strength as a person and her greatest weakness. I would think that Sharon would be more pissed off at Gus for sleeping with Aiden and hurting Rusty so badly. But Sharon still seems very Team Gus. I get the feeling that Sharon thinks there is more to the story than what Rusty is being told. 

As odd as this may seem it is very Sharon. This is the woman that didn't divorce Jack Raydor until 25 years after first separating from him. The woman that took in a boy no one else wanted and fought her almost every step of the way until he fell in love with her. The woman that saw a loving father who desperately wanted to fix his relationships with them, when everyone else saw a bitter angry man. 

Rusty Graduates and Sharon laments

Sharon's emotional outburst is interesting for a number of reasons. It was heartwarming, emotional, sad, and with a nice light humorous touch. Rarely do we see Sharon this emotional. Her emotional outburst is a mixture of her happiness of having Rusty graduate college. Happiness of having a partner that she can truly lean on. And fear of losing all of that with her illness. Rusty seemed to be taken aback at how emotional she was over his diploma. I'm not sure he's ever seen her this emotional. 

I also feel like that Sharon and Andy's behavior during this scene was interesting. Sharon putting her used tissue in his hand and him hold out his handkerchief to her was very fluid behavior. Like this is something they have done before and many times. Particularly when the two of them go out to the movies. Andy has to fill his pockets up with tissue for whenever Sharon bursts into tears. He always makes sure to keep one of his pockets empty because she always hands her used tissues to him. 

What I love is that Sharon is so comfortable giving him her used tissue. And that he's so comfortable taking it. And that he's waiting right there holding out his hankerchief, knowing that she's not done and that she's going to need it. Sharon apologizes for her outburst. Sharon you don't need to apologize for being emotional. Both of them understand. I love how Rusty is all, I almost cried myself. And Andy was like you are going through a lot of emotions right now with your illness. You being emotional is completely expected. 

"We'll keep him safe. As safe as a future attorney." "Oh my son, the Lawyer." OMG! We've got two very proud parents of their son! 

"This is the happiest I have ever been in my entire life." First she tells Ricky how her heart is full. And now she tells Andy and Rusty that she's never been happier in her whole life. Season 5b, we got Sharon telling us she's the happiest she's ever been in her professional life. Now we get Sharon telling us how happy she is in her personal life. Once upon a time ago, she never sought out another romantic relationship. Or another child. But both men fell into her lap so unexpectedly. She didn't need them or had any need for them in her life. She was doing just fine on her own. But like in life, people come into your life when they are supposed to. 

She didn't need Rusty but he needed someone to love and care for him. Would anyone ever thought he would have aspired to become a lawyer? She certainly didn't need another romantic relationship. There was already enough drama from her first marriage and life was good as a separated independent woman. While she would have been perfectly fine without Andy. The thing about their relationship is that they have both managed to heal the other. And for both of them to have someone they can lean on for emotional support. Which is a HUGE thing for both of them. 

Sharon's perfect husband loves kissing her hands. We get two of them in this episode!

Love how this scene here ends with the three of them as their little modge podge family.

Fidelity & Support: Those that have it & Those that don't

Maternal Love

Andrea & Rusty

That look that Andrea gives Gus gives me life. She doesn’t even address him. She only speaks to Rusty. Andrea is like Rusty's Aunt who loves and wants to protect him. As soon as she found out they broke up Gus was in the gutter. And I would bet that from that look she knows why they broke up. What I find interesting is that Rusty told Andrea that he broke up with Gus. Once upon a time ago, Rusty wouldn't talk to Sharon about what was going on with him emotionally. Now he's telling stuff to Andrea! I love it. Rusty is growing up and becoming so much more comfortable in his skin and with the people he considers family.  What I also find interesting is that Andrea was telling Rusty that she doesn't want him spending more his time with this guy who hurt him by telling him to hurry up that he's on the clock. 

I am 100% here for Andrea & Rusty Auntship/Mentorship. I love how this season is lowkey showing how much the two of them care about the other. It's usually Sharon that is very sentive about Rusty's feelings. But with the two working so closely now, Andrea and Rusty have really gotten to know each other. Andrea has gotten very protective of Rusty in her own way.

Bonnie & Vanessa It really seems that Bonnie has taken Vanessa under her wing. And was very maternal towards her. Encouraging her to go to see a psychologist and to keep seeing her. Which really makes sense just how emotional Vanessa was after Bonnie's murder. I had thought that Vanessa had something to do with her death (such as her having killed her) turns out that her connection (to her death) was much different. 

I think that a lot of Vanessa's coworkers and fellow members in the lawsuit againest Tackles. Knew how close the two of them were and Bonnie's death could have fueled a suicidal spiral for Vanessa. Vanessa was already suicidal and having someone who was a huge fountain of support just gone. Could have eventually lead her to suicide.

Sharon & Rusty Much like with Bonnie and Vanessa. Sharon and Rusty's relationship is also very similar. Both Sharon and Bonnie 'adopted' a child that was not their flesh and blood. And became a huge support system for them. Both Vanessa and Rusty have suffered sexual trauma's. Rusty for many years, did not deal with his past as a prostitute and his issues of abandonment. Like Bonnie, Sharon encouraged Rusty to talk to a psychiatrist. When Rusty thought that only crazy people talk to psychiatrists. And Sharon finally had to sit him down and stress that a psychiatrist isn't just for mental illness. It is also for dealing with trauma. 

Sharon was a huge source of love, fidelity and support for Rusty. That he was able to adjust and deal with his trauma. And he's turned out into a mature adult.

Romantic Love

Rusty & Gus

Even broken up Rusty is still supportive of Gus. Rusty went as far as fixing Gus' terrible harassment issue by strong-arming Aiden into signing a recommendation letter and giving Gus two months of pay. Gus on the other hand is pissed about it. I get it. It can be shameful and embarrassing. And Rusty has a tendency to stick his nose in where it doesn't belong. But, Rusty however has his heart in the right place. And Gus' first reaction to this is anger and to lash out at Rusty. But he should be thankful that Rusty was able to get that for him. 

Later on he seems to mellow out and he seems to swing from one extreme to other other. Anger at Rusty for sticking his nose in it. And later guilt and sadness and urging at wanting to get back together with Rusty. The thing is Gus was not faithful (as far as we know) nor does he seem very supportive of Rusty these days. 

"What other people?" "Oh do you think your the only guy that Aiden ever hired or promoted for reasons not related to job performance?" From Gus' reaction to this it really sounds like he's got feelings for Aiden. Even back in part 1, when Gus told Rusty 'blame me don't blame Aiden'. Certainly sounds like he's got feelings for the guy (not to mention being completely blind to who he is), like he's trying to protect him from Rusty. Rusty asked Gus if he was in love with Aiden. And Gus never answered him.

Sharon & Andy "Part of loving my life is keeping my spouse happy right now." Andy doing his best to take care of Sharon and keep her happy as well. Slipping her a bottle of water to remind her to take her pills. In a very discriet way in front of Mason, who apparently has no idea the sevritity of Sharon's illness. Mason seems to notice it though. Love the way Sharon takes her pills so very fast. Much like with their romance their totally odvious.

Doctor's visit

I love how this scene starts! Sharon's got her head on Andy's shoulder. Clutching his arm and stroking it with her thumb. She looks so scared about what the specialist is going to reveal about her illness. It is a great scene of vulnerability. Once the doors open however she straightens up and puts on her mask. I really love this because of how much she is physically and emotionally leaning on Andy for support. This is what being married is supposed to be about. Having a partner who will be there for you for the rest of your life. Who will support and love you in whatever you do. And I really feel like this is the first time we are seeing Sharon lean on him like this. It is also a hint of the things that we don't see. In that Sharon is only vulnerable like that with Andy. 

While Sharon does look more put together emotionally after they walk out of the elevator. She does still seem so very uncertain and scared. Andy of course notices this and calls her out on it, thinking it's her illness. He's afraid she may collapse on him. Especially with her scare earlier in the episode. 

It's really interesting that it's Andy that leads them out of the elevator and to the door. Sharon is always the one to walk ahead, she's always confident about what she's doing. She is always the leader carring the rest of the pack. In this instance, Sharon needs him to be strong for her. And he certainly doesn't let her down.

"But if anything were to happen." "Sharon, nothing is going to happen." "No I know but I need to say this. If anything were to happen, please, and please look after my children." "Of course." A few things to note from this conversation. The Laura Roslin illusions are strong and I don’t like it. Parallels to conversation that Laura had with Bill about what kind of funeral service she would want. Another thing is Andy's is still very much in denial. One thing is for sure is that Sharon's life will have to change. Another thing is Sharon's trust in Andy. Sharon could never trust Jack to ever be there for Emily and Ricky. Not when they were married. She can breathe a little easier knowing that there is someone she can rely on to help her children deal with her death. 

Another thing that I just love about their relationship. Or Andy's behavior in their relationship. Is how much of a gentleman he is to her. Always. They say it's the little things that count in a relationship. And Andy is always opening doors for her. Always letting her have the more comfortable seat and in some cases letting her have the only seat. It is such a sweet and loving touch. That has always said to me "I love you so very much, so I will put you first." I love how he still does this and that it didn't stop once they got together. 

"We'll be two injured hearts beating together as one." "Oh my god, that sounds like a bad country western song." I love this. It's so corny but the thing about it is. It gets Sharon to laugh. Which is ALWAYS his goal when his lady is down. I also love how this whole entire conversation changes tones on a dime. First Sharon is talking about her last wishes. Then Andy is trying to lighten the mood and their is so much mirth. And it makes me so happy that both of them are so happy. Just makes me think that the two of them are laying in their bedroom cuddling and giggling about the dumbest stuff. 

“I've been so happy in my life but walking through that door to see yet another Doctor could change everything." "Not everything, never everything." Throughout all of this Sharon is so uncertain about what is going to happen. She's scared and frightened. But she is not alone. And I love how Andy reassures her that their is one certainty in her life and that is that Andy will always be there for her. He will always love her. And that will never change. She will have him for support for the rest of their lives. And that makes it that much easier for her to face whatever is going to happen beyond that door.  

The way that he looks at her when he says "Not Everything, Never Everything." with so much damned love! Andy loves you so freaking much. He will be strong for you when you aren't. He will be here when you need him. He will help you find your way when you are lost. I love all of this so much because Sharon is always strong. She is always the one to guide others. Care and carry them and help them through emotional issues. It is really wonderful to see someone else being strong for her. And who better than her perfect husband. 

Plus there's that whole doors thing again. And this time both of them are walking through the doors. Together.

Speculation: Does anyone else think that Aiden will be back wrecking havit for Rusty?

Vanessa's missing books could be Dr Landon's books but....if Dr Landon is her rapist, why would she keep her rapist's books? 

Vanessa was stunned to keep her from attacking her killer. That certainly makes it easy for a small person or a woman who's not very strong to kill her. Much like there has been a lot of speculation that Dr Landon's wife is the killer.

What I don't like: I don't think I can really think of anything. Well maybe Rusty and Gusty angst is a little too much in this episode. Also Sharon’s casual shoes are butt ugly in this episode. You can have casual wear and still not look like a grandma. 

What I do like: 

This episode was EMOTIONAL AF. Angsty AF, heartwarming and loving. Lots of personal stuff. Just the type of stuff we have all been waiting for. Another amazing Family scene, Another amazing Shandy scene! 

Sharon and Andy’s casual wear to the doctors. Loved Sharon’s dress and Andy looked so much more handsome in that jacket than that grandpa sweater he wore in Sanctuary City pt5.

So much of this episode is about Fidelity. I never realized just how much until I started piecing it together. It's a nice thing to explore after Sharon and Andy just got married. How much Sharon is relying on Andy to be strong for her. And how much Andy is being a great source of strength for her! Mary who once again knocked it out of the park with her performance.

[tylerhoechlin]

Dylan O'Brien Talks Recovery, Death Cure & American Assassin

Dylan O'Brien is going to blow audiences away with his gritty performance in American Assassin. His turn as Mitch Rapp will be mentioned in the same breath as Matt Damon's Jason Bourne and Daniel Craig's James Bond. He shreds the screen with an intense, physical ferocity. The role would be demanding for any actor. It's astonishing to think that Dylan O'Brien shot American Assassin seven months after his headline making injuries on the set of The Maze Runner: The Death Cure last March. He suffered life threatening facial fractures and body lacerations from an ill-conceived stunt.

The Maze Runner: The Death Cure halted production until Dylan O'Brien could recover. The accident also endangered the rights to American Assassin. The rights for the film would revert from Lionsgate and CBS Films back to the estate of author Vince Flynn if not completed that year. American Assassin is one in a series of books about CIA hit man Mitch Rapp. The script had been around Hollywood for a decade, where at one point Chris Hemsworth was attached to star. Once Director Michael Cuesta took over the project, he wanted to make the character younger and more vulnerable. Cuesta was committed to O'Brien as his lead. The actor had to fast track his return in order to make the film.

American Assassin is a story of vengeance and patriotism. Mitch Rapp watches as his fiance is brutally murdered by terrorists. He becomes obsessed with finding the man responsible, thus turning up on the radar of the CIA. The film costars Michael Keaton as Rapp's uncompromising mentor and Taylor Kitsch as his seriously bad-assed adversary. It's wall to wall with extreme, graphic violence. Dylan O'Brien needed to heal, get back in shape, and then do months of martial arts and weapons training.

My interview with Dylan O'Brien was remarkable. It took place in New York City at the office of his publicist. I was able to sit with him and have a detailed conversation about the last year of his life. He was quite candid about the accident, preparing for American Assassin, and what the film means for his career. It was a life changing experience that tested him in every way. O'Brien made sure to thank the people who helped him through the recovery process. He was in a fragile place, but wasn't going to let the injuries derail his future. It was a fascinating conversation. Please read below our exclusive interview with Dylan O'Brien. He discusses the accident, his new American Assassin movie, completing The Maze Runner: The Death Cure, and his future ambitions as an actor.

How long was it from your accident on The Death Cure to filming American Assassin?

Dylan O'Brien: I was severely injured. It was really soon. I started filming seven months after the accident. I wasn't allowed to do anything for three months. Then about a month after that, I had to start early training. I had a lot of limitations at that point still. It was just breathing and stretching stuff, just getting back on my feet at first. Then we were able to ramp up the training once it got to the fifth and sixth month removed from surgery. I was able to do more strenuous stuff. But mentally, man, that was the biggest battle. The physical part was one thing. Whatever, I broke my face, that'll heal. The mental aspect was the biggest shock to the system. You just don't know how to experience stuff like that. You don't have any control over it either. It's just how your body and brain reacts to something like that happening. The psychological battle was really emotional and difficult. I struggled in a lot of ways. It took a lot of work to get back and do this movie. That six months, in a way, it feels like a lifetime. For every one of those days, the accident still felt like it was yesterday. So it was odd. It's absolutely the toughest thing I have ever experienced.

I saw American Assassin cold. I was blown away by the grittiness and intensity. It's really hardcore. Your fans know you from Teen Wolf and The Maze Runner series. You transcend here into a hardcore, ass-kicking action star. Coming off the accident, did you have any trepidation that you could do this role?

Dylan O'Brien: Oh yeah man, it was a lot. But I pushed through it. I ultimately felt that it would be good for me and it was. There were so many doubts I had. Physically, all the limitations I had, I was so stressed out. (laughs)

Your MMA fighting is incredible. How on earth did you get through that training and filming after such serious injuries?

Dylan O'Brien: F**k yeah man, it was INSANE. It was a lot. There so much in me that didn't think I'd be able to push it and get myself in shape in time. I didn't want to feel pressured when my doctor was telling me I wasn't ready. There was a lot I was balancing. There were multiple days where I would freak out and panic. I wanted to jump ship. I can't f**king do this. I can't handle what I'm going through right now. And then balancing the stress of going to the f**king gym every day. It was overwhelming. I had multiple days where I had to be talked down from the ledge.

I give you major credit. Nothing in your previous work even hints at how ferocious you are in this film. Did the bond company for American Assassin have strict limitations as to what you could and couldn't do? I can imagine they were really nervous after what happened on The Death Cure? How did Michael Cuesta (director) handle that stuff?

Dylan O'Brien: The producers, Cuesta, everyone knew what I was coming from. Everyone was overtly mindful at that point. There was nothing we were going to do...that was the big piece of the puzzle early on. I was a couple months out of surgery and met with the stunt coordinator in LA. I wanted to make sure he understood what happened to me, that I was in a fragile place, physically and mentally, and really wanted to make sure he had my back. From the get go, he really did. The biggest thing I can say about the stunt coordinator, Buster Reeves, was that he set me up with a trainer that could not have been more perfect for me at the time.

Dylan O'Brien: This guy became everything, way more than a trainer to me. He's how this whole process started for me. Even leaving my house, I was so isolated. I didn't want to see anybody, even when I could. He became so much more to me than a trainer. He became my friend. He was someone I went to with a lot of my issues at the time. He also experienced a lot of my freak outs, and episodes of doubt, panic. I was completely overwhelmed. I just wanted to run. He became someone who was really instrumental in getting through that time. And also getting me in shape, getting me to the movie, educating me on the fighting styles. Taking me to a ju-jitsu gym twice a week. He educated me on the martial arts he was expert in, movement, speed. He even showed me how to fight for camera. And he'd talk me down from the ledge when I would show up at the gym hyperventilating. This guy was everything. I had a lot of support on the movie. My dad went out with me, which was huge. Roger is my trainer. I don't think I would have been able to get on that plane without my dad and Roger.

Great to hear man, let's get off the injury tangent. Audiences are going to be putting you in the Bond and Bourne category once American Assassin is released. Where you aware of the Vince Flynn books and Mitch Rapp character before signing on?

Dylan O'Brien: No, I wasn't. The first thing I read was the script when it got sent to me. I liked it, felt connected to it. I then learned about the books, that there were fifteen of them at the time. This was the eleventh book. But no, I was not aware of the books before this got sent to me.

So when the script got to you, they were already making Mitch Rapp a younger character?

Dylan O'Brien: Yes, it had been around for a decade. They were definitely going to do the American Assassin book. They were starting with him young. The question being how young. In the book, he's twenty-three, they were still deciding between making him early twenties or early thirties. But they were set on Assassin being the beginning.

You're signed for multiple films? You're definitely playing this character long term?

Dylan O'Brien: Yes, if we keep going.

The film is no holds barred. There isn't a shred of decency to the villain. The bad guy, Taylor Kitsch, is so awesome. The film has you both an a track to an epic showdown. Talk about the climactic boat scene? Taylor told me that you guys beat the crap out of each other.

Dylan O'Brien: Oh yeah, the forearms (laughs), the jumping around was done by rigs. You mean when we're getting tossed around on the boat right?

Yes.

Dylan O'Brien: I loved that sh*t. The fight was designed in three sections. They were divided by when the boat moved. We would go into our hits, then had pull systems with wires. That fight was exhausting. We even added more to it, which was great. It really helped the fight. It lengthened it and gave it more of an arc. But it added more days. We beat the crap out of each other. You do get bruised and beat up in those scenes obviously, but we were also really careful. We both wanted to get it. We wanted that scene to be brutal and intense. You're finally getting to see these two guys go at it. We wanted it to deliver. That really mattered to us. Taylor is really dedicated. We gave it everything. F**ck, the next day, I couldn't even move, my forearms, from all the blocks, you're actually connecting. You get beat up, but it was great. We were both really happy with how that came out. You never want to pull any punches. You want that stuff to be as real and as vicious as possible.

Michael Keaton is also on a different level here. Audiences have never seen him like this. What was it like working with him?

Dylan O'Brien: It's the coolest thing ever. It was a trip. I would just sit back sometimes. He was a huge reason I signed on. I dug the character, I dug the script, I loved my conversations with the director, Michael Cuesta. I felt something was there, that we could be great. It was a beneficial business decision and something that could fulfill me as an actor. You have to try to balance both. When I heard Keaton was on, I was like, I'm in. He's great. He truly is one of my heroes. I grew up watching him. I grew up loving him as a kid, genuinely, even before I was an actor. I'd love to accomplish what he's accomplished, in terms of his versatility. He always f**king shows up. He raised his kid on his own. He had his own personal life. I just dig him. I dig everything about it him. It was a dream working with him. I really learned a lot from him.

Going back to The Maze Runner series, you have completed the last film, The Death Cure?

Dylan O'Brien: Yes, it comes out January next year.

And Teen Wolf is in its last season, so you're done there as well?

Dylan O'Brien: Yup, that's done and The Death Cure is done.

So you're untethered?

Dylan O'Brien: Yes, for the first time ever.

You're waiting to see how American Assassin does before you choose your next role?

Dylan O'Brien: Yes, I wanted to take some time. I've got this coming out. I wanted to chill for a bit, have the fall, have the holidays. Then be selective about the next thing I do, make sure it's with a filmmaker that I love and trust. It doesn't have to be anyone who's known. I just want to be selective and have it be something I'm passionate about, connected to. I want it to be different, a new challenge. I don't know exactly what that's going to be, or what it looks like, but that's how I'll go about it.

[source: movieweb]

[all-about-wannaone]

Wanna One as Disney Movie Characters (Maknae Line)

(I could not find a better gif omg)

And I am back with the second part of this series! ^^ In all honesty, the “Maknae” line was actually easier to research for than the “Hyung” line! ^^;; Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun writing this because I too discovered my childhood a little bit more and learnt a little more about the characters that I could not possibly comprehend at the age of 8 or 9. Once again, thank you @curryriceu for the interesting ask and hopefully, you (and all the rest) will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed researching and typing out my rationales! ^^ Wishing you all a happy reading experience and before I start to ramble unnecessarily, here we go~ 

Part 1: Hyung Line (Yoon Jisung, Ha Sungwoon, Hwang Minhyun, Ong Seongwoo, Kim Jaehwan, Kang Daniel)

Park Jihoon: Peter Pan (Peter Pan)

First thing’s first, the extent of the maknae line in terms of characters escalated quickly from mature, high, mighty and brave characters to those that are a little more on the youthful and boyish side. To start things off, we have Park Jihoon as Peter Pan and there are many reasons why I have decided to associate him with this youthful and extremely fun-loving character. Despite the awkwardness that Jihoon seemed to portray in the beginning of Produce 101 Season 2, he was eventually discovered to be someone who was considerably boyish, playful and fun. Despite the fact that I (or perhaps anyone) never knew Peter Pan’s true age, he was always portrayed to be a young soul who loved to have fun and goofed around rather than solving issues which bring worry, fear and negativity. Hence, because Jihoon is young (and is my age haha), these are the things that the young would probably prefer doing; live happily, worry later... or should I say “Hakuna Matata”? However, when the occasion presses for it, Peter Pan was willing to step up to the plate and save his companions from the wrath of Captain Hook, which highlighted the fact that despite his playfulness and youth, it showed that he was capable of empathy, care and basically, a holistic sense of true human emotion. This could be shown HERE where the other members of the adorable “Oh Little Girl” team pulled a prank for his birthday, with Gunhee and Minki (Ren) being the main characters and getting into a petty argument. Sure, Jihoon might have stormed out due to the tense and uncomfortable atmosphere, but when Sewoon spoke to him, it was obvious that Jihoon did care for his team and was genuinely worried about how the team would get over such an obstacle. In short, this short video clearly shows the similarities between Jihoon and Peter Pan; preferring to stay out of negative and uncomfortable atmospheres but still showing care for his companions as a whole in secret. Lastly, despite Peter Pan’s young age, he was still brave and battled with Captain Hook to save his friends, even when he was almost killed in the process. Like Jihoon, he was always one to get through his own personal obstacles and insecurities and proved to the public that he was worthy to be in Wanna One, thus claiming #2 eventually in the final 11. 

Park Woojin: Baymax (Big Hero 6)

As you guys can probably tell, I’m actually quite a fan of Big Hero 6 and as I was doing this request, I could not help but associate Woojin with this white, huggable and cat-loving robot. In the movie as a robot, Baymax was extremely friendly and sociable, but his monotonous (but happy) voice made it seem like he was socially awkward with 99% friendliness and 1% awkwardness. Like Woojin, he was extremely uncomfortable with the A-graders when he first met them and preferred to stay quietly by the sidelines and honestly, we did not hear very much about him until the position evaluations when he joined the “Get Ugly” team and through the behind-the-scenes footage, we got a little more of an inkling to what he was really like and eventually, we got to know him as one who was extremely talkative when he was with people that he’s comfortable with, adorable with all his VJ-ing + extra footage and was definitely well loved by the older ones. Furthermore, Baymax was also extremely innocent, and that trait pretty much screamed “Park Woojin” to me and was never the type to hurt anyone, showcasing his gentle and caring side. Also, Baymax was also known to be extremely devoted to his cause of being a “personal healthcare companion”, both physically and emotionally, and was always there for the main character through thick and thin. Like Woojin, it was clear that he was very set on achieving his dream and did his best in everything, even when he was suffering from a serious case of shingles. He continued to perform “Never”, despite his condition and carried it out well together with the rest. After hospitalisation, he showed up again for the 3rd elimination to prove that he was determined and would not allow an illness to get him down. Even if I’m not sure whether he’s always there (lack of footage ahem mnet ahem) for the rest, it is clear that he is someone capable of deep conversation and would probably be a great listener. Sure, he might not talk very much but will definitely be a great source of comfort at any time and for anyone. It was also clear that he was well mannered and polite, just like Baymax. For the above traits, he was finally recognised to be someone worthy of Wanna One’s lineup, despite his quiet nature, and rose the ranks from #72 to clinching #6 at the very last episode.

Bae Jinyoung: EVE (WALL-E) 

Once again, as I was doing my research on the movies under Disney, I found another movie that I actually liked (but forgot) and it was one that actually brought me to tears despite the lack of dialogue; that is none other than WALL-E. Hence, I have decided to associate Bae Jinyoung with EVE which was also known as Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator and often mistaken for Eva. In the beginning, EVE was definitely more refined and upon meeting WALL-E, she was actually hostile towards him and spared him no second thought. Similarly, in the beginning of Produce 101 Season 2, Jinyoung was known as the trainee who always looked as if he was deep in thought and often lacked the confidence in his abilities. Hence, with his seemingly stoic personality, awkward and intense aura, he then earned the name “Deep Dark” from the fans and viewers due to his lack of emotion and speech. Unfortunately, there were times when he had his moments of failure, especially when he dropped sharply from a C-grade to an F-grade due to his lack of confidence at the re-evaluations, but that did not stop him from continuing to work hard and work his way up the ranks. Soon after, he began to showcase his skills a little more through singing for his chosen song, “Spring Day”, and also showed more of his endearing and playful side (ahem winkdeep ahem). It was clear that he opened himself up significantly and definitely made some true friends throughout the course of Produce 101 such as Jihoon, Daehwi (my goodness have you guys seen it) and even Minhyun (who probably adopted him) and so much more. Similarly, for EVE, she became more friendly towards WALL-E after he had saved her from danger and they had officially introduced themselves to one another, which was her very first step to getting to know him better and vice versa. Indeed, Jinyoung came a long way from the beginning to the end and his constant hard work and dedication eventually granted him the 4th spot in the second last elimination and earned him the coveted “Centre” position for the iconic and eye-catching “Hands On Me” performance. He was no longer that unconfident, shy and awkward boy anymore; he became one who was extremely endearing, adorable and exceptionally confident, giving his all for his last performance. To some, getting into the top 11 was questionable for some but I must say that he actually did deserve the spot and is clearly capable of learning new things despite his young age. Lastly, despite this boy looking as if he’s too young to understand the bitterness of the world, it is clear that he is also caring towards his fellow mates, giving them long and sad hugs as well as words of encouragement when they either made it to the top 11 (i.e. Minhyun) or those who were eliminated.

Lee Daehwi: Joy (Inside Out)

I know I’m a little late to the party but up till now, I have never watched Inside Out. However, surprise surprise, because when I first got this request, Daehwi was the very first person that I thought of and it was none other than to be associated with this joyful and positive character. In the movie, Joy, as her name suggests, was always the optimistic one and provided hope in times of despair and doubt. Like her, Daehwi was definitely hopeful and was confident in his abilities, especially when he was deemed to be the “Next Somi” and was immediately sorted out into the A-grade together with the other Brand New Music trainees except Donghyun who went to the B-grade. Furthermore, he was also voted to be the “Centre” of “Pick Me season 2″ which earned him lots of screentime in my opinion. Unfortunately, it was definitely not met with good feedback from netizens (sIGHS) and it was only made worse when he had made a seemingly wise decision by choosing all the popular boys to be in his team for Boy In Luv. He was said to be too ambitious and greedy, but I could not deny that he had made a smart (but risky) decision to recruit all the popular ones which guaranteed his team victorious against Boy In Luv Team 2. Joy, in Inside Out, was also said to be extremely smart and always seemed to have everything under control, especially when she was the leader of Riley’s emotions. Despite all the hatred being thrown at him, he continued to work hard in order to showcase to the public a better version of himself and remained his happy-go-lucky self and still encouraged and cared for other trainees, even when he was going through these personal battles of his own. Personally, I came to realise that Daehwi was actually a literal smiley and talented angel, who always put others before himself and even risked his stand at some points (that infamous doubling incident) but it is clear that he too has matured throughout the show and I am glad National Producers came to realise this. Like Joy, she went through many ups and downs, but continued to remain caring towards the others and grew to become a better character towards the end, especially when it came to working with the other emotions and understanding them better. Despite all this, Daehwi emerged victorious anyway and he was able to come in 3rd in the final 11 lineup, like his rank in the very first episode. In short, Daehwi is pretty much the male version of Joy, not only in terms of their characters, but also in terms of their personal developments as well. 

Lai Guanlin: Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid) 

Surprisingly, Guanlin was the only one in the “Maknae Line” to get something a little more on the mature side because nothing seemed to have fit him better than Prince Eric of The Little Mermaid. Firstly, Prince Eric was known to be a little more on the stoic side, and always remained calm, whatever the situation. Honestly, when I read this, he immediately reminded me of Guanlin’s calmness throughout the entire show. Sure, he was definitely a sentimental boy, but he never showed any form of sadness, even when he faced a drastic drop from #2 to #20 in the second last elimination and being the trainee who barely survived the change in rules. Furthermore, being young, I feel like he would be the type to probably fall in love very easily and that was Prince Eric, who immediately fell in love with “the mysterious girl with the beautiful voice”. He was exceptionally determined to find her and was sure that he would marry her after she had saved him to show his deep gratitude towards her (which is obviously NOT something that anyone would do in real life). Furthermore, Prince Eric, despite being a prince, was said to be fun-loving and that was pretty much Guanlin who never failed to enjoy all the experiences given to him. It was not easy, especially when he came from Taiwan with very limited vocabulary, but it was clear that he made the most out of it and continued to aim high, even though the odds were stacked against him when he went from a D-grade to an F-grade. However, Prince Eric was also mature and that was definitely something that I had learnt about Guanlin. He was only 15/16 when he decided to come to Korea to achieve his dream, knowing that the journey was not going to be easy, but he pressed on and said so himself that he would not be willing to go back because becoming a Kpop star was what he came for, and there was no way that he was going back to his hometown without a fight. Through this, it also highlighted his determination and dedication for his dream, whereas for Prince Eric, it was to find the girl named Ariel, whom he would later discover. Sometimes, I do feel that Guanlin still has more to learn (because he has only been training for 6 months), but he still deserved 7th place anyway because he worked for it and fought bravely despite the sudden turn of the tables. Lastly, I must say... Doesn’t Prince Eric actually remind you of Guanlin physically? Maybe it’s just me, but the more I look at it, the more I feel it resembles Guanlin, and this was probably the most holistic rationale ever on why Guanlin became Prince Eric instead of a cute character this time around. 

And once again folks, I am done with another requested series! ^^ Boy, it sure was tough getting to this point, especially all the research and thought that I had to put into it, however, it was still a pretty good experience to push myself out of the comfort zone to write something like this. Furthermore, isn’t it only right to actually work hard for all my readers, followers and noters? :) Now, I am close to reaching 200 followers and almost 700 likes and reblogs. ;; I don’t know what to say really, but thank you so much for all your support and love omg, ;_; I hope all of these have brought smiles (and laughter) to your days and I will, hopefully, continue to do so as a form of gratitude. :’)

With regards to request, I will be opening them up till Sunday, 9th July 2017, in light of the school holiday today so happy requesting for more and I hope to see you guys in my inbox and askbox! Goodbye for now and I will see you again in another exciting series coming up! :D 

[fantasysuiteleague]

Week 2: XOXO, Gossip Girl

With so many dumb girls milling around the Bachelor mansion, still drunk from the night before and starving for carbs and attention, I'm sure it's difficult to not make the first few episodes of the show feel over-produced. Jk. We're in Season 21 and Nick is our Bachelor: everything is over-produced. That being said, this week felt particularly cringe-worthy. We kick things off with our sleep-deprived divas trying to convince us that the only thing they've been able to think about since arriving 12 hours ago is Nick. Not their phones, their families, their jobs, the presidential election. Only NICK VIALL. Right.

Enter Chris Harrison, who reminds the women that they only way they're going to stand out with this many girls in the house is to be memorable slutty. This piece of unsolicited and sexist advice triggers Manchurian Candidate Corinne, and it's all downhill from here.

Something Old. Something New. Something Topless. Something Rude.

The first group date of the episode is ultimate Bachelor irony. Actually, it feels like a storyline cooked up by Quinn and Rachel on UnREAL. The girls gleefully drive three Buick convertibles down the street to a mansion usually used to shoot adult films. Once parked, they're made to jog into the backyard where they meet up with a heavily spray-tanned man named Franco who is almost definitely an actor and/or one of the producer's friends. There, the producers dangle the possibility of marriage in front of them while simultaneously cheapening the entire experience. What's more? They've all been drinking since they arrived, and have to watch each other pose and make out with Nick. This is Bachelor 101. An incredibly basic premise that is guaranteed to spawn all sorts of jealousy, desperation, and insecurity.

The pawn at the center of this whole *experiment* is none other than that girl you wished you hadn't started a conversation with at a party: Corinne. To absolutely no one's surprise, this bitch has never been a bridesmaid. But keep in mind she's 24 and probably only hangs out with older club promoters, so this warrants no more than an eyeroll. Photog Franco, who is probably shooting a porn after this group date, *coincidentally* makes Corinne a bikini bride, and like the Manchurian Candidate that she is, all she can talk about is how sexy she looks and how it makes sense that she would be the nearly naked bride. Enter Brittany (who?), who is actually topless and actually looks very pretty. Corinne is, of course, very uncomfortable because she was programmed to be the star.

And A STAR SHE WILL BE. Left with no other options, Corinne takes her top off and *forces* Nick to hold her boobs in front of the other girls. It's pretty obvious that they made Corinne go last so everyone would be drunk enough to get pissed, and it works. Adding insult to injury, Franco picks Corinne as the "winner" of the group date, because, as she puts it, she was actually daring enough to have clothes and then take them off. Later that night Corinne continues to "project her sexuality" on Nick, stealing him first and immediately going in for the make out. Hilariously, Nick says that he's been "really impressed with Corinne so far." Yeah, having absolutely no shame is truly impressive. And she continues to impress me by interrupting other girls not once, but twice after her original make out session.

Now naturally this pisses everyone off, but NO ONE says or DOES anything about it! Ladies, I hate to repeat Corinne's advice here, but like, fucking go interrupt her and take your time. You came here "for Nick" or at least to be on TV, so fucking take what is yours! But they won't, because they're all fucking idiots. This is underscored by the repeated in-camera interviews were girls like Taylor try to convince themselves that Corinne "isn't what Nick wants" and that Nick is "better than Corinne." Taylor: get a clue. Or a job. Or watch a single episode of Andi or Kaitlyn's season. Or just like, go to a bar in River North. Then maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't sit here thinking that a guy like Nick isn't going to go for a girl like Corinne. Because he is. And sure enough, he proves it by giving Corinne the group date rose.

In between flashes of Corinne we see Raven getting some quality time in with Nick, but is any time with Nick actually quality time? For example, Raven let's Nick know she was cheated on before, and Nick's response was to direct the conversation to him and talk about how he's been cheated on. Everything he says feels so disingenuous, but that's because he always finds a way to make things about himself. So if we're being real, him and Corinne are actually perfect for each other. But we're not being real, because this is reality TV. There was, however, a perfect moment of reality TV after Taylor re-interrupts Corinne and Corinne confronts her. Corinne is pissed because "that's not the way to go about things." The way to go about things is to be "classy" [take your top off] and not direct your disrespect "towards any one person" ... just the entire group. Taylor handles the confusing assault incredibly well. Then again, anyone with an IQ over 70 shouldn't have much difficulty defending themselves against a drunk clown. Corinne quickly forgets about Taylor, gushing with pride for herself for stepping out of her comfort zone "in many different times and angles."

Playa Say What?

The second half of the episode was dedicated to the history between Liz and Nick. I can't decide if Liz is this dumb, or just starving for Instagram fame. On the one hand, I can see how a producer could convince her that Nick would love to see her again, they already have an established connection, and she'll probably go far. On the other hand, she seems pretty dumb. Sitting around the mansion all day with nothing to do but drink, tan, and get in her own head, Liz confides in Gretchen Wieners that she is Jade's best friend, didn't memorize her maid of honor speech at the wedding, and also slept with Nick. She emphasizes how wasted she was when it happened, and also how awkward it was. "Like, super awkward."

She mentions intermittent sex and talking, which is something we've heard before. This all but confirms my suspicion that Nick is actually terrible in bed. That's why it didn't work out with Andi. And sure, he fucked Kaitlyn and still made it to the final two, but that sneaky fuck sesh probably didn't give him tons of time to talk while inside of her.

The Nice Girl 

It's pretty easy to forget that Nick went on a 1-on-1 date this episode, but there's a reason for that. Danielle M. doesn't make good TV because she's not terrible like the rest of the girls. She seems like a very sweet girl and has a real job. Does she pack a lot of personality? No. But not everyone can be Alexis or Corinne or the Genie from Aladdin. There can't be complex hoes without basic bitches, and Danielle M. is that nice basic bitch. She'll stick around awhile because she's probably one of the only "real" women who, despite being pretty bland, is one of the only realistic choices in terms of actual marriage and not just Hollywood Instagram-fame. This is probably why she gets the first 1-on-1 date. She's got the hometown Wisconsin vibe and they need to get her tragedy out and on camera because she's going to fade to the back for the next 7 weeks before ultimately getting cut. During dinner, Nick goes on and on about himself and being on the Bachelorette twice and heartbreak, and Danielle M. just keeps nodding, looking bored. This whole Bachelorette story sounds like Hillary repeatedly listing her years of accomplishments during the debates while contrasting Donald's years of housing discrimination and golden showers. We get it. You get it. You're here. We're listening. Can we please talk about something else? Anything.

We Need to Talk . . .

The theme of this date -- breakups -- is comically opposite to the first in every way. The first stop is the "Museum of Broken Relationships,"  which cannot possibly be a thing that existed prior to the filming of this episode. This "museum" houses an uncomfortable amount of random shit that people have "left behind" from their broken relationships. Umm, what? Left behind from where? No one can convince me that people come to museums to break up, or that they send objects from their failed relationships to be put on display for other weirdoes to look at. First of all, where are all the dildos? Second, USPS is incredibly unreliable. Sure enough, at least one loser has donated to this museum: Nick. After a rehearsed speech about himself and how Andi and Kaitlyn led him to be the Bachelor, the women are given the task of preparing breakup monologues for Nick. Everything is funny and light-hearted, especially when loose cannon Josephine smacks Nick across the face. Until, that is, it's Liz's turn. Upset and insecure, she pulls out a NOTEPAD to start her breakup. Immediately, Nick diverts his eyes like the pussy that he is.

But he knows what's coming. And it's AWFUL. More cringe worthy than Corinne's nipples, Liz goes on and on--in detail--about meeting him in a hallway, at a wedding, and essentially blames him for not chasing after her, even though she wasn't ready to let him in. Or at least, in farther than just the tip. The audience is silent and all of the girls but Gretchen Wieners look confused. Gretchen tries to play it cool and pretend that she has no idea what's going on,

but it's not very convincing. Liz's breakup is followed by more awkward silence and her finally saying "okay we can be done." Thank fucking god. For some reason, after this, NOT A SINGLE GIRL asks what the fuck that was all about. They mention it was detailed and weird and awkward, but don't say anything to Liz or Nick. Literally no girl, after hearing the hallway comment, and the wedding comment, was like -- umm, I have a few follow up questions? Nick spends the rest of the date stressing out about Liz, but it's pretty easy to see through his feigned concern for the other women. In a voiceover he tries to sell that he's concerned because he doesn't want the girls to think he's been lying to them (which he has), but in reality, he's concerned about what she actually said and how much of "her side" has been leaked. So while Jaimi reveals she's dated girls, and Kristina talks about growing up in a country that may or may not be controlling the United States, all Nick can think about is who knows what. It's smarmy and pathetic and incredible on brand. Finally, Gretchen Wieners spills the beans to him and he's able to tell his side of the story. At this point, he knows he has to get rid of Liz before she tells more people about how terrible he is in bed, so pulls her away for 1-on-1 time. They're gone for a long time which eventually leads the girls to wonder what's going on between them after her awkward-ass breakup speech. Gretchen Wieners refuses to rat Liz out,

but making it pretty clear there's something going on. And sure enough, it is. Nick confronts Liz with the whole "right reasons" question, and Liz's answer is just awful. She didn't ask for his number because she didn't know him. But then didn't want to ask for it and give him the wrong impression because she knew he was in Paradise. And even though he was only in Paradise for a month, she knew he had "other things" going on and just wasn't the type of person who liked to talk on the phone. We don't need Nick to point out to us that the more she talks, the less sense she makes, but it's the nail in her coffin. Finally Nick tells Liz that, while he admires her lack of shame courage for coming on this show and putting herself and her sexual history out there, she's milked this situation for all it's worth and it's time to go.

Now that he's gotten rid of Liz, he has to do the hardest thing of all: tell the women. Come clean. Be honest. Of course this is going to be difficult, because being a decent person isn't easy. Especially for a selfish little bitch like Nick. Before dropping the bomb he expresses concern that it's not the right time. But when is it ever a good time to tell your 26 girlfriends that you slept with one of them already? That you've been lying to them since Day 1? That you actually have no dick? I guess we'll find out next week. You know you love me.

XOXO,

Gossip Girl.

Corinne's Corner

There were too many good quotes to incorporate or ignore coming from this girl's articitially plumped up mouth, so here are my favorites:

I just want to be with him. Be with him. And hopefully, I will."

"I was daring enough to have clothes, and take them off."

"Brittany is half naked, and that should be me."

"Like he held my boobs, okay. No one has ever held my boobs like that. Or ever will."

"I really like Nick. When I was talking to him, he was listening."

"Today was just a dream come true. I stepped out of my comfort zone in many different times and angles. Dad would be so proud. Even though I was naked. HE would be proud."

"As long as there's no situation about the situation, we're okay."

"I just put myself out there and I just was myself. That's it. That's all I did, guys. Literally. I was just Corinne."  Yeah, we saw...

Did you notice ...

"I'm ready for the women to see me as me, instead of the guy they've seen on TV."  - Nick....but wait...

Alexis looks like Jade. But she's much cooler. From dolphin/shark to pregnant wife. She's definitely my favorite. Especially when she was resting her drink on her fake pregnant belly.

The girls on the first group date want to give Brittany the benefit of the doubt. They’re jealous of her, but they don’t mind because she didn’t choose to be topless. She was born that way.

The girls complained about being a bridesmaids, but Liz could have told them that's not a bad thing when it comes to Nick.

Did you notice that Liz's big reveal to Gretchen Wieners actually happened over three different scenes? I'm guessing this is because Liz wasn't giving enough detail the first two times and the producers really wanted to get the whole sex thing out there.

On the boat during their 1-on-1 date, Nick makes Danielle M. face the sun after snagging some cheese and then the better spot. SMH.

After hearing they were going to act out breakup scenes, Nick turns to Josephine and says "I'm most worried about you" as she says "violence."

Minority Report: No rose ceremony this week so nothing to report. But noticeably we didn't really see any of our chocolate ladies this week. That's probably a good thing since we were so focused on crazy white girls, but still, can we get more camera time for the lesbian with the nose ring? 

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Life is Strange 2 Devs Don't Know Where Franchise Will Go Next, But They Want To Keep Making Games Like It

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/life-is-strange-2-devs-dont-know-where-franchise-will-go-next-but-they-want-to-keep-making-games-like-it/

Life is Strange 2 Devs Don't Know Where Franchise Will Go Next, But They Want To Keep Making Games Like It

Developer Dontnod’s choice-focused, narrative Life is Strange games have come to occupy a specific niche on the video game industry landscape. Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2 tell stories about coming of age and growing up, and while both seasons of the franchise also include kids with fantastic supernatural powers, they also try to focus on getting at subjects that are relatable in everyday life. Life is Strange 2 is particularly interesting for its setting in the current US political climate, taking place right before the 2016 presidential election and including a lot of the issues and rhetoric surrounding it.

Life is Strange 2 director Raoul Barbet and lead writer Jean-Luc Cano took part in a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, where they discussed some of the ins and outs of working on the Life is Strange franchise and creating the young characters who make up its world. Ahead of the panel, Barbet and Cano sat down with GameSpot to talk about the burgeoning Life is Strange “universe,” which now spans Life is Strange, its prequel Before the Storm, Life is Strange 2, and The Adventures of Captain Spirit, a free episode that functions as an add-on story for Life is Strange 2.

While the franchise seems to be expanding to include a variety of different stories, neither Barbet and Cano were sure where the franchise might be headed after the conclusion of Life is Strange 2’s last two episodes, the next of which is due out in August. Regardless of whether Life is Strange continues, though, the formula of narrative game it embodies is something both developers said Dontnod will pursue.

GameSpot: As you think about the Life is Strange “universe,” what is it that makes a Life is Strange game?

Raoul Barbet: As you may know it’s Square Enix, the publisher, that owns the brand of Life is Strange. So after the first Life is Strange, we were discussing with them if they were interested in creating a new season. That was the case and we were asking ourselves what really was the DNA of those games, and those style of games. So for the first Life is Strange, we didn’t want to create, like, a universe or something like that, it was more about creating a game–a good game, I hope. And even after the first episode, we didn’t know if we’d continue to create the other episodes. We were in luck because it works quite well and we were happy, so we were able to finish the first season and create the new one.

So I’d say that because it was really an independent game and a full story that works by itself, we wanted to do the same thing with Life is Strange 2, so it’s a new story, new characters, but of course, the DNA of the game is still there. So it’ll be the artistic direction, it will be that we want to create, first, believable characters and a good story, and that tackles some actual subjects of society’s problems and that kind of stuff, and puts the player in some interesting situations. And in the end, you’ve got the supernatural element, so in the first season, it was the ability to rewind, linked to the story of Max and the coming of age story. And this one involves Daniel and the education subject, and the fact we wanted to talk about, what does it take to educate someone and take care of someone else?

What are you guys thinking about as this world keeps getting bigger, and what do you want to do with it?

Jean-Luc Cano: We don’t really know if we’re going to do another Life is Strange game, but with Captain Spirit, Life is Strange 2 was already written, and we were thinking about how to present it to the players, to the community, to the fans, the new flavor of Life is Strange 2. That’s why we made Captain Spirit, to introduce in a smart way Sean and Daniel, not by making them the heroes of Captain Spirit, but by making them the guests at the end. When you see Sean and Daniel at the end, nobody knew that they would be the heroes of the new season. Then we released the first trailer for Life is Strange 2, people were like, oh man, it’s the two guys from the end of Captain Spirit.

For the future, we don’t know if we’re going to make Life is Strange 3 or expand the universe. We haven’t been thinking about it in this kind of way. Actually, we’re working on Episode 4 and Episode 5, and we’re really dedicated to these last two episodes because it’s a lot of work. We don’t know what we’re going to do next.

Barbet: The fact is that Square Enix owns the brand, so it’s their decision to expand the universe. Even if we have created the first season and the characters, and for this one and the characters. They own the brand. So I don’t think we’re going to continue, but if we continue as creators, game creators, we’ll continue to create narrative games like this. And I think Captain Spirit was a great experience for us because it was very different. It’s a small game some would say, it’s a shorter game, but I think we managed to create very quickly our universe and believable characters, and it was quite a challenge at this time, but we would be able to continue to create small games like this. So it might not be in the Life is Strange universe but we don’t know. We’re game directors, so we don’t know what we’ll be working on, and I don’t know what Square Enix wants.

As you were focusing on Episode 4 and 5, was the whole story written ahead of time or is it evolving as you’re making it?

Cano: The whole story was written from the beginning. So our process is to write and imagine the story with Michelle and Raoul, we three imagine the story, then I write the first big [take on the] story. And then after that, the story’s cut into five episodes. We’re working from the top, the main story, and then we divide it into sequences, and then from sequences into small scenes, and then from scenes into dialogues. So we know from the beginning where we’re going to, but because of the game itself, the episodic approach, we’re able to change stuff in production. But basically, the main story is written from the beginning.

Have there been any changes like that, any responses to how maybe how players are experiencing the game or their feedback?

Cano: Yes, the fact that we have four months between two episodes and at the end of every episode we have the statistics, we can shape the experience of the new episode we are in production on. So we’ve made a few adjustments regarding player choices, and also from a production point of view, sometimes the episode is too big to be done, so we have to cut some sequences. Our job is to say, okay, if we cut all these sequences, what we’re saying in these sequences has to be said somewhere else. So we have to reshape the episode from this point of view.

The game is very much set in this specific current political climate. It’s reacting to things that are happening in our real world, like with its mention of Donald Trump’s wall on the Mexico-US border. That situation is, even now, evolving every day–is what’s going on in the real world filtering down to you as you make each new episode, and are you responding to what’s happening in our world?

Barbet: I don’t think we want to make statements, for sure. It’s not the purpose of our game. It’s more about putting the players in interesting situations where they can think about all those subjects. The idea is not to make political statements or to say this is good or this is bad, it’s more to see the situation, live this moment, and to think about it. …But I think it’s not evolving so much in the beginning of the game, because by the time we had written the story, all those subjects were already there, and I think even like a hundred years ago. It’s the same in Europe and in other countries. Our game is taking place in the US so we talk about it here, but in France it’s the same. We wanted to talk about those subjects because of the story and the sequences we wanted to create for the players. Like you say, it’s evolving very fast, but we’re not changing the story for that, I think it was already there from the beginning.

Creating believable kids is a big part of what you’re talking about on your panel, and it seems like a big challenge. What’s it like trying to build those characters, and what work are you doing maybe from a research perspective?

Barbet: At the beginning, we were doing a lot of research about that, and about education in a general way, books and documentaries about psychologists and sociologists who talk about this. And after that, it’s a lot of work with the writers and with the actors. For Daniel, it was a very young child, and the voice actors as well, so we discuss with them. Jean-Luc has a daughter, so there is a lot of his own story inside the story of Life is Strange 2. And after that, we research and talk about the scene with different people to be sure to be accurate. But having a believable young child is really difficult. It’s dialogues and sentences, cues, but it’s also acting, like in the animation, those little elements that give Daniel believability. It’s a lot of small stuff like that during production.

So you’re bouncing lines off the actors and asking “Does this feel authentic to you?”

Barbet: Yeah, even when we are shooting a scene, we’re asking, “is it believable like this?” and they’re saying, “no, it’s not really believable to do that,” et cetera. And the same for the voice actors, each time we record some lines, as we’re French, we prefer to trust American people to tell us it sounds natural or to make sure it’s not cliche or the French way of saying things.

All the Life is Strange games, they don’t back down from dealing with social issues and things that are real part of kids’ lives and of growing up. What kind of issues would you say you’re trying to tackle in Episodes Four and Five, thematically?

Cano: To be honest, we can’t really talk about what will happen in Episodes Four and Five, but the themes we are tackling in Four and Five are new themes that haven’t been seen in the first three episodes of Life is Strange 2, or in the first season of Life is Strange. Sean and Daniel will face new scenes, new characters, new moods. So we really can’t wait to see the reaction of the fans and the players and the community, because it’s a new subject.

You mentioned that a lot of the story is kind of yours, with your daughter. Can you tell me more about that?

Cano: Yeah, when we were imagining what Life is Strange 2 could be with [co-director] Michel [Koch] and Raoul, I was just figuring out that, as a father, everything I was doing, everything I was saying, my little daughter took it as an example. For example, if I said to her, “You know, it’s bad to say bad words,” she’d say, “Yes, but when you’re driving you say a lot of bad words.” Okay, so, yeah, I figured out that everything I was doing or saying, I was an example for her, so I had to behave myself not for me to be a better person, but for her to learn to be a better one.

So I think the beginning, the seed of Life is Strange 2 came from this, and when we imagined the story of Life is Strange 2, I told Michel and Raoul, we could have this thing where you shape a new character by your actions. So the fact would be in LIfe is Strange 2 every decision you make as Sean would have an impact not only on you and your story, but also on Daniel. So as a player it will be really interesting to see, oh my god, Daniel is growing up, but he’s becoming a bad kid. But it’s only because of me, and what I had done? I thought I was making good decision for him.

Is it tough to balance the idea of consequences for your actions with giving the player a chance to fix things? I know after Episode 2 I was thinking, okay, how can I get Daniel back on track, how can I “win.” How do you balance the push and pull of wanting consequences to flow forward with giving the player the ability to try to “fix” things?

Barbet: I would say there’s not a good or bad ending, or things to “fix.” Because I think it’s more, maybe you think you have made a mistake, or you think you could have done better with something that happens every day in your life, you know? You make decisions, you make choices with any of that. But you can’t rewind. You can’t go back in time. So the idea of this game is: be careful, you will be responsible for some consequences, but you will also be responsible for Daniel’s whole life, maybe, because of this education aspect.

So I really think it’s strong as a basis for a game. It was really strong. And from a design point of view, I would say we find good moments for the player to be able to choose a bit, but we really, of course, stay on a storyline we have to tell. So you can have very different endings, like you have seen in Episode 2, but we have to go on and continue to tell the story. So we can’t, I would say, have too many different scenes and different endings, for example in this episode, because we want to keep the characters believable, and we want the story to continue to work, even if Daniel is changing a lot. So you have to find the right balance between giving some freedom to the players and in the meantime, keep your story safe, or keep your story believable.

Cano: And I think the main difference between the first season of Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2 is that, in the first season of Life is Strange, when you make a decision with Max, you can see the consequence immediately. And you see, two or three sequences later, another consequence, but you knew it was because of this decision.

In Life is Strange 2, you don’t see immediately the consequences. You don’t have your massive, big decisions. The behavior of Daniel is shaped by a lot of small details you don’t notice at the time. Even if we have big, huge A or B choices, Daniel is not always shaped by only these big decision. He is shaped by a lot of little stuff, vital choices, action you’ve made, picking up some stuff. And it’s all separate stuff, you know. So when you say, “Okay, what I’ve done wrong?” It’s not one decision you have made. It’s a lot of different small details that shape Daniel, but it’s not right or wrong. It’s only your experience.

Source : Gamesport